Of death and Mikey
by Zhuylan
Summary: The three voices reached her- oh, how loved he was! They were both desperate and hopeful, but she knew, and kept her eyes shut: a glance would let her see the bright orange aura stained by the colour of death. Warning- OC
1. Fading Sunset

**_So, I guess I am supposed to say that I don't own the turtles, which I obviously don't._**

OC, NOT a tragedy, rated T (? just in case)

 _I have_ _done some writing, but if we get into technicalities, this is my first fanfic (please don't burn me). I have read loads of fics though, there it's such an amount of them that I was even doubting it was possible to write something new at this point- if this reminds anyone of any other fic, I was not coping anyone, I swear._

 ** _"The sky takes on shades of orange during sunrise and sunset, the colour that gives you hope that the sun will set only to rise again."_**

He was sitting at the border of one of the thousands of NYC's rooftops, bathed in the colors of a beautiful sunset. It was truly overwhelming: part of the golden sphere still peeked from behind the great city's buildings, but the night was gaining terrain. The orange light was fading, and even though there still were streaks of red, these were slowly becoming purplish, giving way to the dark blue, where the first starts were beginning to show. It seemed to be one of those perfect moments, when one just wishes to be able to stop time and enjoy a little longer...

\- "Something's missing..."- he whispered, the three-fingered hand clenching the left side of his plastron. Confusion and pain were obvious on his freckled face, and for an instant her chest tightened before she could bring herself to say:

\- "Really? I think it's amazing...you should just relax..."- she paused for a second, trying to find the right words, before proceeding- "Don't you feel kind of peaceful watching this?"

As he slightly turned his head to his right, she thought that the teenage turtle would at least glance at her, but instead, his gaze turned down.

\- "It kinda..."- if he was going to say that it did give him such a feeling, he never did, as he proceeded, sounding distressed- "I just have this feeling..."- his eyes shot up, and two lost, baby blue orbs looked at her.

The sight made her put two fingers on his forehead without even thinking, and the now-almost-nighttime scenario dissolved as the young turtle's lids closed.

His body shifted too, becoming one of a five years old, and she carefully placed the small frame on the throne in front of them and adjusted the little crown on the toddler's head. Leaving the kid to his deep slumber, she looked around, a wave of sadness hitting her- the place that, she knew, had used to be bright and full of life was now motionless, all colour fading away.

She didn't know when had it started- she wasn't supposed to feel so strongly, that was what she was, that was what she had always done, as long as she remembered; but within all those memories there wasn't even one time it had been so hard for her to take someone to the other side.

 ** _"How strange the fear of death is! We are never frightened at a sunset."_**

What _do you think? I'm sorry it's short, I hope it is not too confusing- the explanation of who exactly is "she" will come eventually (and no, she is not the female version of Castiel from Supernatural, even though she stole his move)_. Quotes _are not mine and not directly related to the story._

 _Constructive_ _criticism is welcomed, thanks for reading, see you next time!_


	2. Touching a heart

\- All _warnings in the first chapter_

 _I was really excited after posting the first part, and even more after receiving a review- **to guest** :_

 _Don't worry about the length of the review (I totally do the same). You are right, my punctuation went kind of out of hand there xD. As for attempting to write something fresh, I guess this second chapter turned to be more typical, specially the dialog (I was kinda struggling with it). I am glad you liked the beginning and hope you keep enjoying, thanks for the support!_

 ** _"There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul."_**

After one last glance at the young fragile form slumped in the throne, she closed her eyes, and let herself drift away from the teen's mind. The familiar sensation invaded her, a sudden rush of energy that had made her gasp every one of the thousands of times she had done this. But there was so much more to it- the reason she inadvertantly held her breath for just a few seconds after each of those gasps: the glimpses of the truest feelings held in one's very core that could only be perceived during those instants when the connection was being broken.

She exhaled slowly but, for once, that didn't help to loosen the tightness that had formed in her chest. Intuiting- no, knowing deep inside what was awaiting her during those few seconds didn't help her at all when she was washed over by all his innocence and unconditional love. It was far from being the first time she had "touched his soul" but, once again, the realization that she was to leave the world without such light hit her.

And then there was them- she wasn't just going to leave them lost within the darkness, she was practically about to rip their heart out- three voices reached her, gently talking to Mikey. Though, unbeknownst to them, she was the only one listening.

Oh, how loved he was!

They were both desperate and hopeful, but she knew better, and kept her eyes shut: a glance would let her see the bright orange aura stained by the colour of death. She just listened in, not because that would help her anyhow, it wouldn't, she knew hearing their words would just make the task harder; but because she couldn't help wanting to preserve that beautiful bond the brothers had, just a little longer.

"He's gonna wake up, he's got to." That sounded somewhat rough and seemed to be fueled by determination. But the facade didn't last, and even thought at the beginning of the next frase the voice she recognized to be Raphael's sounded almost angry, by the time he finished talking it was a mere whisper. "Ya hear me, Mickey? You just have to. It ain't the same without ya, lil' bro."

The room went silent for what felt like an eternity, that is, if you ignored the constant beeping sound.

Now, she was sure that it was Donatello talking "I never thought I would someday hate being in the lab." The comment was thrown out of the blue, and it didn't make much sense to her until he proceeded, the speech quickening with every word. "It's too quiet, and I just keep keep looking up at him with each beep, and he's not moving, it's just not right." The turtle took in a breath, before saying pleadingly "Come back to us, Mikey. I need you, we need you."

He trailed off and it seemed like none of them would talk in a while, but Donnie whispered something she barely distinguished as "...so sorry."

And only then the devastating silence fell upon the room, the sound of the heart monitor just a background noise to the ones present.

One could have thought, it was someone with a sore throat talking, but she was certain it was Leo, trying to break the heavy atmosphere. "It isn't the time for this, D. Right now, we have to be there for him. For Mikey."

And he did a good job at sounding confident, but she knew Michelangelo's brothers through him, and was sure that the blue-banded turtle was the one feeling the guiltiest. Mikey seemed to understand them better than they did themselves at times, and Leo, he just was like that, always blaming himself, taking responsibility.

The littlest turtle was so close to them. He could neither remember nor hear them, she had made sure of that. But the love for his brothers was part of his very core- she had realized that while watching the sky of her sunset illusion shift by itself to show orange, purple, red and blue blending together.

 _ **"It's easy to fool the eye but it's hard to fool the heart."**_

 _I rewrote this one a couple of times, and I am still unsure about it...Anyways, let me know what do you think, until next time!_


	3. Beauty in sadness

\- All warnings in the first chapter

Sorry _this took a while, in summer I switch from a part-time to a full-time job and it takes a bit of getting used to. Due to that, this chapter wasn't entirely written in one go- I hope it doesn't sound weird because of it._

 _Once again, to **guest** : Thanks for following the story, I will try to keep improving. And sorry, that typo was my phone's keyboard deciding the word Mikey doesn't exist xD._

 ** _"Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us."_**

She wasn't sure, it could have been just a couple of minutes since Leo spoke, but the beeping seemed to have a strange effect on time, as she had the feeling it had been hours. The brothers surely found the sound hopeful, but for her, it was just a reminder of what had to be done.

Finally opening her eyes, she wondered if there were any words to describe how much the scene in front of her was both beautiful and so very sad.

Michelangelo's heavily bandaged body lied on a cot in Donatello's lab, very still, the shallow breathing barely reflected. The fact that all the endless energy that characterized Mikey was nowhere to be found seemed to be painfully obvious for Donnie, who, instead of looking at the injured turtle had his blank gaze locked on the heart monitor.

Raphael, on contrary, was leaning forward from his seat beside the medical bed. His eyes carried an intense fire- although its fuel wasn't anger but worry and determination- and stared at the youngest turtle's face as if that would somehow help him. Not only his expression, his gesture too, both of his hands gripping Mikey's, silently screamed his little brother to wake up.

Leo was looking at the unconscious form too, but, unlike Raph, he seemed to be examining it. She followed his eyes through the different bandages on Michelangelo's body, around his head, his middle and the left thigh, finally stopping on the cast on his right leg before turning her gaze to the floor. Rather than what was hidden and wrapped, what disturbed her the most were the multiple bruises scattered around Mickey's upper half and the color of his skin that, under the white lights of the laboratory, looked so pale that green was barely distinguishable. By the time she looked back up, Leo had comfortingly placed a hand on Donnie's shoulder with an unreadable expression and she caught herself thinking that Mikey would have read through that mask- Leo's attempt to look strong to support his brothers- in no time.

But the most incredible thing about this scene couldn't be perceived through normal eyes. She had watched them, astonished, the first time she noticed how even the auras of the brothers seemed to protect each other, specially Mikey. But that wasn't all: at the moment, the blue, red, purple and orange were almost glued to each other, and the aura of the three eldest seemed to be trying to pull the colour of death away from their youngest.

She could've sat there in wonder if it hadn't been for the feeling she was being observed. After a glance, she gasped: Master Splinter was looking at her from the doorway. Past the initial panic, she realized that rather than knowing she was there, he must have sensed her presence- none of them could possibly see her, none was marked by death, none- but Mikey. However, being invisible to Splinter's eyes didn't bring much relief: she couldn't help but feel like an intruder.

She quickly averted her gaze, ready to go back to Michelangelo's mind but, as she was about to connect with the young turtle's inner world, she gave in to the unreasonable urge to take another look at the old rat-man: he was now behind Leonardo, one paw on his shoulder and the other softly placed upon his injured son's arm. Despite the comforting gesture, Splinter's eyes were full of concern and sadness- so much that she wondered if he somehow not only noticed her presence, but also knew what she was. She almost bit her lip thinking how the rat seemed so much older than just a couple of days ago, and only the fact she had shifted her focus to reach Mikey's mind stopped her.

Grasping someone's inner self was usually harder than leaving their core but Michelangelo's essence was so pure it was easy to find; besides, it wasn't even remotely the first time she entered the littlest turtle's imagination, she was almost used to it. Soon enough, her fingers were brushing the cool green skin of the turtle toddler slumped in the cardboard throne. And just like that, she was "touching" his soul once again.

However, she wasn't ready for the frase that met her, together with a small smile- "You're back."

 **"The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"**

 _Actually I have been drawing a cover for this, hoping to add it with the chapter that will clear all doubts about who is she- which is probably the next one or the one after it._

 _Anyway, you know the deal, let me know how was it, pretty please!_


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